Father, Daughter, And A Horse
by CBrooke92
Summary: Emma gets in a car crash and James comes to pick her up on his horse. Emma reveals some things about her childhood which makes her and her father to become closer. Bad Summary, I know! Rated T for language. Enjoy!


**A cute one-shot involving Emma and Charming because I still believe there's not a lot of FanFictions about them. I'm hoping for good father/daughter moments between the two in the OUAT series. So anyways, Enjoy and Please Review!**

It was late afternoon and Emma was driving around Storybrooke in the Sheriff's car. She was doing her usual routine, making sure everything was somewhat normal. The definition of 'normal' had changed for Emma since everyone in town was a fairytale character. So the main reason for patrolling the town was to make sure the people were safe from Regina and Gold.

After everything seemed fine, she decided to drive up the where the boarder was that separated Storybrooke from the real world. It was about a 30 minute drive, which gave Emma time to enjoy being alone.

With the curse broken and finally returning home from her adventure in the Enchanted Forest with Snow, things have gotten to crowded for Emma. First off, James, Henry, Snow and herself are all living in the small apartment which made Emma feel claustrophobic. Reason number 2, she and her father aren't as close as she and her mother. So when it's just them in the apartment, it's very awkward and Emma doesn't like like it. Finally, she never has enough alone time. With a kid to take care of and a mother who wants to know everything about your childhood, there's no time to be alone with her thoughts.

So, coming back to reality, Emma finds herself approaching the boarder. She can see the red line the dwarfs had painted in the road. Not paying attention, Emma steps on the brakes, not noticing the black ice on the ground. It had been below freezing for couple nights and it has also been snowing. The car swerved and Emma tried to control to car but failed. She ended up going off road and crashing into a tree. "What the hell!" She sighs. Luckily she wasn't going to fast so all she'll have is a nasty seat belt bruise across her chest and small cut about her left eyebrow from hitting the steering wheel. Emma turned the keys, praying the car would start, but nothing happened. She hits the dash board, "Dammit!" Emma gets out of the car and stumbles to the road. Thankfully the sky was clear, so there's no chance it will rain. When she reaches the road, Emma pulls out her phone to call her Deputy to come pick her up. After 2 rings, he answers.

"Hello!"

"Uh James, I sorta crashed my car at the boarder near the woods. Can you come get me?" Emma asks.

"Oh god, Emma are you Ok?" James panics.

"Ya, just small injuries. So can you get me?"

"Of course. I leave right now!"

"Wait," She stops him before he hangs up. "There's a lot of black ice on the road. So unless you want to go off roading, be careful."

"I will. Just sit tight."

Emma hangs up and sits down to lean against the tree. She pressed her sleeve to the cut on her forehead to stop the bleeding. "Well, I guess I wait for my Prince Charming." She giggles. Yep, she definitely hit her head a lot harder than she thought.

Back at the Sheriff station, James rushes to leave and get Emma. He puts on his jacket and grabs his keys. Wait, the roads are covered in ice. He speculates if he should put chains on his tires. It would take some time and he knows, Emma doesn't have time. She has both his and Snow's stubborn streak, so even though she said she's fine, he can tell that she's lying. Pacing back and forth he figures out what to do. Then it hits him, didn't Emma say something about off roading. He smiles because he knows just the thing that perfect for that.

It's been 40 minutes and Emma still sat against the tree waiting for her father. Then, in the distance, she hears a noise coming from the woods. She stands up and turns to where the noise was coming from. "Oh! My! God!" Coming towards her was James riding his horse. I guess he really is her Prince Charming.

He come up next to her a hops off. "Emma, are you Ok?" He examines her bloody forehead. After making sure the cut wasn't too bad, he starts unzipping her jacket.

"Hey! Whoa! What are you doing?" Emma questions his actions.

"Seeing that cut," He points to her head, "I know you hit the tree pretty hard. Which means, you probably have bruises on your shoulder and side. So, I want to check them." James watches his daughter roll her eyes but nods. He continued what he was doing and lifts up her shirt part way. "Well you got a nasty bruise just below your ribs." He gently presses his fingers to her ribs and see her wince. "And I feel that one maybe 2 are cracked." James moves to her shoulder and sees another bruise just as bad as the other. He sighs and zips her jacket back up. "So, do you think you can make it back to the apartment?"

"Ya, I think so. So, do I have to get on that?" She gestures the horse.

"Well I'm not going to make you walk. Don't worry, he's been by my side for years. You'll be safe." He jumps on the saddle and holds out his hand to help her up.

She hesitates. "Um, I don't do horse. I've had back experiences with them in foster care." Did she just share something about her childhood? That's going to come back and bite her in the ass. "I'm sure your horse is great and all but..."

"Emma!" James stops hers. "I promise, I won't let anything happen to you. I will always protect you." He sees her smile. "So, do you trust me?"

Emma nods and takes his hand. James moves his foot so she can put hers in the stirrup. In one quick motion, James pulls while Emma jumps and she's behind him on the horse.

"Ah! Crap!" Emma sucks in a breath and grabs her side.

"Sorry, I bet that hurt." He turns to face her.

"Ya, but I'll live."

"Alright, you ready?" He asks.

"Lets get this over with." She watched her father as he turned back around. When the horse started to move Emma quickly wrapped her arms around James waist. "You're probably enjoying this, aren't you?"

James laughed. "I'll take what I can." He didn't want to admit that he really loved having his daughter so close to him. If she could see his face, she'd find a smile that spread from one ear to the other.

They road in silence for about 5 minutes when James spoke. "So, what happened that made you afraid of horses?"

Yep, there's the bite. "Well...I...Uh..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He told her.

"No, I do. I think I should open up to you more since, you know, you're my dad." Emma says.

"Dad?" James smiles.

"Don't push it. I'm already on the back of your horse, I'm practically hugging you, and I'm sharing something that even Snow doesn't know."

"Sorry, please, continue."

Emma clears her throat. "So, when I was 12 years old, I got in trouble and my foster dad threw me out to the stalls where he kept his horses. He told me if I'm going to act like an animal, then I should stay with the animals. He locked me in with the horses that were aggressive and during the night I got kicked. I broke my arm and collar bone." She peeked over her father's shoulder and saw his hands tightly grip the reins. "And that's why I hate horses." She finished.

Tensing up, James didn't know whether to scream or to punch something. How could somebody be so cruel? Especially to a little girl, HIS little girl. He stops the horse and faces his daughter. "I'm so sorry Emma. This is all my fault. If I'd done something more and prevented the curse, none of that would've happened. I failed as a Prince, and even worse, I failed you as a father."

Both Emma and James had tears filling their eyes. Emma wiped hers and raise her hand to wipe James's. She then grabbed his chin so he can look at her. "None of this is your fault. Do you hear me? None of it. If you want to blame someone, blame Regina. She did this." More tears feel. "You're a good Prince, and...and a great father."

James smiled. "First dad, now father. Are you sure you're Ok?"

"I don't know anymore." She and James laughed. "So, shall we continue Charming? It's getting dark and my head and side hurt."

"Charming now?"

"No, this time that was me. I call Mary Margaret Snow now and I think Charming suits you."

"Just like your mother." He smiled. "And ya, we better go. Snow's going to kill us if we're late."

They continued their journey to the stables in silence. James felt Emma's grip around his waist loosen. He glanced back and saw Emma leaning against him fast a sleep. When they reached the stables, James helped Emma get off the horse and into his truck. He put his horse in the stable and drove home.

"Ready to face to wrath of Snow White?" James warned Emma as they stood in front of the door.

"Ready as I'll even be Charming. And besides, I'm crippled. She can't be that mean." Emma reached for the handle but then the door swung open revealing an angry Snow White.

"Where in the hell have you two been?" Snow said, glaring at her husband and daughter.

"I...Well..." James tried to say.

"I got in a car crash, by the boarded and Charming came with his horse and got me." Emma answered.

"Wait! Wait! Did you just call him Charming?" Snow questioned Emma.

"Look, how bought you let us come inside and I'll tell you everything. Also, I need your motherly help with fixing my cut and ribs."

A couple of minutes later, everyone got settled on the couch. Snow put a bandage on Emma's cut and wrapped up her side. She told Emma that Henry spent the night at Jefferson's house because he and Grace were partners in a school project.

James took a seat beside his daughter and handed her an ice pack for her shoulder. Emma, in the mean time, told Snow about her and James's adventure.

"So that is why we're late."

"You're calling him Charming now?" Snow asked.

Emma blushed. "Ya, I call you Snow and well, he doesn't look like a James. He's more like a..."

"Charming." Snow finished. "Ya, that's what I said when I first met him."

"So are we off the hook?" James said.

"Yes, you guys are off the hook." Snow got up and kissed Emma's forehead. "I'm going to bed. You should too. You need to rest and recover." She looked at her husband. "Don't stay up too late." She went up stairs, which is hers and James's room now, and went to bed.

"Alright, well I think your mother's right. Time for bed."

"But I don't wanna." Emma pouted.

"Ha! Nice try." James laughed.

"Really? Not working. Well I tried." Emma stood up and made her way to her room. She stopped half way and turned. "Night, Prince Charming."

James smiled and bowed. "Good Night, Princess Emma."


End file.
